This guidance is intended for people designing /or implementing feedback mechanisms in a humanitarian program, and in particular in cases where such mechanisms are established to:

Operate at the level of the individual programme or project

Operate in the context of ongoing humanitarian operations or humanitarian programming (but not necessarily in the immediate phases of relief and response after a sudden-onset crisis)

Provide usable information for adjusting and improving some elements of the actions carried out and services delivered

Deal with a broad caseload of non-sensitive issues (feedback) in addition to sensitive ones (complaints). Mechanisms designed exclusively to address sexual exploitation and abuse allegations were excluded from this study and related guidance, on the assumption that they may require special design ‘features’ (such as mechanisms to allow for the collection of evidence that could be used in legal processes) and might address issues of acknowledgement of feedback, validation and anonymity/confidentiality in very specific ways.